YR Editorial Policy

Editorial Mission

YR Media journalism is driven by the organization’s mission to promote equal opportunity for America’s youth, and to build public understanding and accountability with respect to youth issues and policy.

Editorial Guidelines: Journalism

YR Media is committed to truth, accuracy, and journalism’s role in democracy. Both reporting and opinion must be fact-based, fact-checked, and top quality.

YR Media maintains editorial independence and decision-making.

YR Media will solicit and publish youth opinion that is representative of a wide range of viewpoints and experiences. Opinion is clearly marked as such.

Arts (including fiction and satire) operate in the realm of creative expression.

Hate speech, racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, ableism and any other form of negation of equal opportunity have no place in YR Media’s opinion pages or social media, or in the political speech of its employees.

Financial Transparency and Firewall

As a matter of course, the names of donors at or above $1000 annually will be published on YR Media’s website. Anonymous donations will be accepted only if the donor agrees to safeguards that protect YR Media’s independence.

YR Media maintains a firewall between news coverage and the influence of revenue sources.

YR Media’s internal revenue-generating functions (e.g., a studio that produces content for advocacy and/or corporate partners) are staffed, operated and clearly branded separately from the organization’s journalism. Click here to see a list of our supporters.

Staff Civic Engagement Statement

It is your right to speak freely. As an employee of YR Media, please keep in mind that every time you express yourself on social media or publicly, even in your private life, people may identify your actions and opinions with YR Media. Think about possible conflicts of interest–real or perceived–that may come up. Please consider the stake we all have in YR Media’s excellent reputation, and whether you are helping or hurting our organization and its ability to support underrepresented youth and their channels for opportunity, expression and creativity.

Oversight

YR Media will form a working group that includes board members, staff, and youth to make recommendations and take action as issues arise related to these guidelines. An appendix to this document will include internal protocols and best practices. The editorial leadership team will be responsible for vetting specific cases related to YR Media’s content.

Editorial Guidelines: Creative Content

YR Media Creative Content is driven by the organization’s mission to promote equal opportunity for America’s youth, foster self-expression and creative independence, while engaging young people in meaningful opportunities for artistic development and facilitating creative industry readiness.

Arts (including fiction and satire) operate in the realm of creative expression. YR Media will not censor the creative process, and all published works will fall within these guidelines.

YR Media is committed to truth, creative exploration, innovation, self-expression and arts’s role in democracy. Creative content must be developed through an authentic process, yield opportunities for collaboration, and be top quality.

YR Media maintains editorial independence and decision-making.

YR Media will solicit and publish youth creative content that is representative of a wide range of aesthetics, viewpoints and experiences.

Creative Content Oversight

YR Media will form a working group that includes board members, industry professionals/YR Creative Advisory Board, staff, and youth to contextualize creative decisions, make recommendations and take action as issues arise related to these guidelines. An appendix to this document will include internal protocols and best practices. The arts editorial leadership team will be responsible for vetting specific cases related to YR Media’s creative content.